Newest entry from Doug Smith's blog, for new and old Raps fans alike!

August 09, 2012
All the right answers from Valanciunas, and Garbo's here!

I think I might end up liking this Jonas Valanciunas guy quite well.

Finally got to see him play in person yesterday and he actually wasn’t that bad. Ran the floor extremely well, good on pick-and-roll offence, not so good on pick and roll or post defence but big and quick and he’s going to be a player. A pretty darn good player it looks like right now.

Not sure he’s a favourite of the Lithuanian coach, who buried him on the bench most of yesterday to go with a small lineup that got drubbed by big, and very good, Russia.

But that’s one game, no sense rushing to too much judgement on the kid, I still go back to various reports from people I respect with no affiliation with the Raptors who say he’ll be just fine.

He does give a pretty good quote.

After introducing myself as a scribbler from Toronto, to which he replied “good to meet you” and that puts him ahead in my books, first question out was what did you learn here?

“I learned how not to foul out.”

Badda-bing!

Gotta love a kid who can deliver a line and someone who knows what he’s up against.

“I get tough lessons on how hard the fight is under the basket, I need to gain some pounds and gain some power. But I’m still young.”

Dwane? Have you been telling the kid what to say?

Next up for him is a couple of weeks off – he’s been on the go pretty steadily for about a month and a half – and then it’s back to the gym because now he’s got some idea of what’s ahead of him.

“I played against all the NBA stars so I think that was good experience and it’s going to help me for next season.”

Sigh.... I wish I was a Raptors fan back in the day, especially when I saw this...

I come around a corner leaving the mixed zone after talking to Jose and who do I run into?

Garbo!!!!!

The one and only Jorge Garbajosa, who has to be in the top three or four Raptors of all time in my books, was standing there waiting to talk to Pau Gasol while accepting congratulations and hugs and kisses from a handful of Spanish journalists.

Garbo looks like he could still give you 12 and 10 on any given night but his career as a player is over.

Now he’s working for the Spanish basketball federation (“A big shot? Oh, no. I don’t know what I’m doing, they think I can help") and one of his primary gigs is to help prepare for the 2014 basketball World Cup.

And if you don’t think I’m already planning to weasel my way to Spain for three weeks or so to hang in Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria, Malaga and wherever else they play games, you don’t know me at all.

(Boss? I am soooooooo going. Thanks. Just wanted to let you know)

Anyway, another great Garbo line, right up there with “if I am the rookie of the month, this league is (blanked)” came to mind.

He used to bust on people, jokingly, for their choices in fashion, ties and shirts were a big target. One day we’re standing there, he looks at person who shall go nameless – honest, it wasn’t me, I’d take great pride if it was – and smiles:

Sigh.... I wish I was a Raptors fan back in the day, especially when I saw this...

A lot of Kleiza in Garbo. Didn't back down...smiled at some of the b******t antics of younger players who puffed themselves up and talked tough. And a real team guy. He had pride in himself and his team mates.

Hmm, I left off Oak from my list. Replace Keon (I'll miss his weeded out ass) and just play PF at C... raptor style

Best possible I'd put Garbo behind VC at the 3, move AB behind CB and put Antonio behind Camby. Antonio was better playing the 5 than AB was/is. Scored 2/3rds as much and crushed him defensively and on the glass and he'd whip AB's ass all the way back to Rome.

hmmm...all time fave team. I tried not to take people from our current team, but felt the need to include Bargs in the PFs, and he has been here quite long. Maybe DeRozan would move up my list quickly depending on a) how next season goes, b) if he's with the team after next season. Also, I tried to make it a team that would be good. Anyway, here:

Not making the cut: T-Mac....Still don't like that he wanted to leave. What a dumbass....We can hate VC for how things happened, but he was justified in wanting to not spend his prime rebuilding. T-Mac wanted to leave a playoff team, where if he developed as he did in Orlando, he would have probably been the initiator of the offense, if not the leading scorer on the team, what with Vince there. Anyway, I can't include T-Mac, partly because he's still kind of a dumbass.
J. Rose...he was pretty much washed up and didn't want to be here as soon as he knew Carter was leaving. He's just a joker, and he only had one great season for his career in Indiana, at least in my view. Rarely a good player on a good team
K. Clark...he drank a half-pint or a pint of gin during halftime of every game...nuff said. Poor old drunk. He would easily be on my list if he had kept his career going even after his short stint with us.

I cringe each time I read one of Smith's pieces. I wonder if he speaks the way he writes...like a sixteen year old...in the '80s.

Garbo came to play each game and a great team player. Never came across though as a smart/fancy dresser himself though. At least thats what I got from Smith. He would frequently have his shirt (dress) out of his pants.

hmmm...all time fave team. I tried not to take people from our current team, but felt the need to include Bargs in the PFs, and he has been here quite long. Maybe DeRozan would move up my list quickly depending on a) how next season goes, b) if he's with the team after next season. Also, I tried to make it a team that would be good. Anyway, here:

Not making the cut: T-Mac....Still don't like that he wanted to leave. What a dumbass....We can hate VC for how things happened, but he was justified in wanting to not spend his prime rebuilding. T-Mac wanted to leave a playoff team, where if he developed as he did in Orlando, he would have probably been the initiator of the offense, if not the leading scorer on the team, what with Vince there. Anyway, I can't include T-Mac, partly because he's still kind of a dumbass.
J. Rose...he was pretty much washed up and didn't want to be here as soon as he knew Carter was leaving. He's just a joker, and he only had one great season for his career in Indiana, at least in my view. Rarely a good player on a good team
K. Clark...he drank a half-pint or a pint of gin during halftime of every game...nuff said. Poor old drunk. He would easily be on my list if he had kept his career going even after his short stint with us.

I think it's interesting that 2 fans could have such different memories of former players. For instance:

Tmac left, IMO, because the franchise at the time was still trying to figure out how to be run and the GM gave zero support to a young player the coach (DWalker) wouldn't give burn to and publicly humiliated to the media. I think at that point he was done. He knew he had Franchise level talent and was going somewhere that would be nurtured and encouraged and given reign to bloom and it did. He also knew that beyond the jaw dropping dunks he was a better all round player than his cousin. Vince was treated like Jordan but TMac wasn't even given the repect of being treated like Pippen.

Rose knew he was close to being done and knew that once the team had imploded (thanks Vince CUNTer) he had no business being here. Despite that he never complained and always came to ball and to this day reps the Tdot on his podcast and keeps it real like only he can. Keep in mind he was on a Kevin O'Neil team and the dysfunctional SMitch teams (where the clueless coach was fighting with the star player and the PG and threatened anyone who would double Kobe with a prolonged benching leading to the 81) where he and Skip wouldn't pass to each other. Despite all that turmoil he never once complained or went to the media. And I'll always miss watching him back down guys from mid range along the base line only to unleash a turnaround J with those pointy ass elbows swinging for dudes head. Beautiful.

I was totally disappointed in Doug Smith's blog during the Olympics. I haven't followed him much but being out in Edmonton Oiler country it is nice to hear someone who is supposed to be covering the Raps (thank goodness for Rap's Republic). I believe he has "assignments" at the Olympics that prevent him from going to see all the Rap's playing in the Olympics but his attitude toward the team's players was brutal.

In his live message board during the final game he was asked:

Tim Chisholm from TSN wrote an article last night suggesting Wilson Chandler would be a fit for the raps after the big 4 way Howard/Bynum/Igoudala trade..Any thoughts on that and Chandler's game?
by Andy August 12 at 7:55 AM

His response:

None, couldn't care less right now; and it's not going to happen. The Raptors are done

I realize it is the offseason, but the one thing he offers his readers on even the final game is a Raptor's perspective. If I want a perspective on that game I am certainly not looking to him, unless he is providing a uniquely Rap's based analysis. I may be blowing this out of proportion but there were numerous times when I went to his blog and his references to watching or not watching the major franchise piece of the future was underwhelming to say the least.

Here is another inspiring reference to his work:

Dear Raptors.

Please, in The Name Of All That’s Good In The World, do not ever, ever, ever schedule a game in any time zone anywhere in the world that starts at NINE FREAKING O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING.

Kind regards,

Tired Grunt who doesn’t know enough to go to bed a reasonable hour.

Hey "The Star", if you are looking for someone who is actually interested in this team and is willing to even attend events at 9am!!!!, here is your guy. Anybody else interested?

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
― John Wooden

...Hey "The Star", if you are looking for someone who is actually interested in this team and is willing to even attend events at 9am!!!!, here is your guy. Anybody else interested?

Smith wasn't sent to the Olympics to cover the Raptors players, he was sent to cover the Olympics with a heavy emphasis on the Canadian participants. He made that eminently clear throughout his coverage.

When he replied to a questions with "...couldn't care less right now; and it's not going to happen. The Raptors are done," he was providing his belief that there would be no moves by the Raptors until after the season starts. If he refuses to engage in the kind of idle speculation that fans love to get into on fan boards, I can't blame him. He's a professional reporter that is supposed to deal in facts, conclusions and at least educated guesses, not fan chatter. That's what RR is for.